EntryPoint Capital LLC Purchases New Holdings in Archrock, Inc. $AROC

Key Points

• EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Archrock, purchasing 13,571 shares valued at approximately $356,000 during the first quarter.
• Archrock reported a 41.6% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $383.15 million for the quarter ending August 4th, with earnings per share of $0.39, exceeding estimates.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.21 per share, reflecting a yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 63.64%.

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,571 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AROC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Archrock by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 19,220 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Archrock by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,078 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Archrock in the fourth quarter worth about $1,093,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Archrock by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 101,286 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,521,000 after buying an additional 6,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Archrock by 74.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 196,837 shares of the energy company's stock worth $4,899,000 after purchasing an additional 84,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Archrock from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Sidoti upgraded shares of Archrock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Archrock

In related news, SVP Eric W. Thode sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $235,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 224,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,292,003.86. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Archrock Stock Up 0.8%

Archrock stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.59. 229,477 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,784. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Archrock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.38 and a fifty-two week high of $30.44. The company's fifty day moving average price is $23.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.66.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The energy company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. Archrock had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 18.74%. The business had revenue of $383.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $366.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Archrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.64%.

Archrock declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to buy up to 1.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Archrock Profile

Archrock, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Contract Operations and Aftermarket Services. It engages in the designing, sourcing, owning, installing, operating, servicing, repairing, and maintaining of its owned fleet of natural gas compression equipment to provide natural gas compression services.